DETECTION TIMES OF NATURAL TEETH AND ENDOSSEOUS IMPLANTS REVEALED BY THE METHOD OF REACTION-TIME

Reaction times were employed to assess whether implants have longer de tection times than natural teeth. A soft push was applied to an endoss eous implant or to the corresponding natural tooth. Patients were aske d for a speeded manual response upon the detection of tile push. The t emporal interval from the onset of the push to the onset of the manual response denoted the reaction time. This measure was only slightly lo nger for endosseous implants than for natural teeth, indicating that a n implant's ability to detect rapid load changes is almost unimpaired.